escape4

Lots of FT heavy hitters, many of which live in hotels full time or have done so in the past, have already responded with their quality advice here and speak from experience.

One more vote from me regarding spreading things around to many hotel programs and not stick to just one. Maybe with 100-120 nights you could concentrate on one but with 300+ nights you should diversify. One hotel chain can be strong in one city but weak in another, or sometimes one very good hotel happens to be on the expensive side for my dates so I end up booking another equally good hotel from another chain for much cheaper. You will want to put yourself in the situation of having the flexibility to make that call.

Personally I like the variety so I mix up an Aloft followed by Waldorf Astoria, a Hyatt Place followed by Ritz Carlton, etc. Some people like continuity so perhaps you will want to stick with Marriott 100% but be aware that you are unlikely to maximize value because you will be "forced" to stay in subpar hotels or overpriced hotels once in a while when the best deal is with another chain.

For hotels.com if being in the standard room is fine by you it might be a choice, but I value elite room upgrades so for me it's not a viable option. I get far more value out of upgrades than I do from the points earned, although that can vary on geography and level of hotel (luxury vs select service).

mahasamatman

I don't think suspense is a requirement...

mahasamatman

Depends on when you travel. You can get some good deals over holidays. For example, we're paying $129/night for the Marriott Marquis in SF in December, and some rates in the area are under $100/night.

Keyser

stupid spell check....

Ord Liza

Years ago, I did a platinum challenge with Marriott. Does Marriott still offer challenges? If so, might be worth looking into.

CIT85

Another vote for spreading your nights to more than just Marriott. Recently when I was searching for hotel room rates in Charleston, Hilton, Head, SC and Savannah, GA. Hyatt properties in Savannah, Andaz and HR, were actually cheaper than Marriott and Hilton. Hyatt Prive 3rd night free promotion also make Hyatt propertie more attractive with amenities.

You can easily achieve Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium and Hilton Diamond. By switching up the nights according to location and promotion, you will also be able to maximize your return and enjoyment.

DELee

Another welcome, PNWCatLady!

I would caution to highlight that the locales that you intend to go versus densities of various hotels by brand will vary significantly. As noted by CIT85 , some places in the South may have a decent distribution of the larger chains, other areas will not.

Additionally, not to shill the credit cards but there are clear and obvious benefits to having and using each brand's card(s) depending on your need/interest/willingness to manage all of their ins and outs.

Ultimately, given the advice provided above (and likely to follow), I think you need to be clear as to what your objectives are: are you travelling to live on sabbatical - or - living and working on sabbatical and travel is a key part of it? There are quite a few folks active on FT who've made their primary and secondary avocation to be travel gurus. I'm assuming that your sabbatical year on the road is for a separate purpose than travel. Always keep that in mind.

David

p.s. That being said, do have fun - clearly travel over the next year will be affected by CV19 and things will vary so know that the folks on FT will be around to provide advice and commentary if things go, as put in a famous thread a ways back by eightblack , pearshaped.

p.p.s. What are you doing about your cat(s) during this period of travel?

kaizen7

365 nights in various hotels and various cities .... I'm quite jealous to be honest

OP might looks into spread the stays between 2-3 chains and earn usable tiers on those programs
Get Marriott Platinum Challenge and other chains challenges as well to maximise the status benefits.

margarita girl

Did you notice that's it's US and Canada?

DELee

Is that good or bad? Or both?

David

margarita girl

I’d be jealous if it was Asia and/or Europe. LOL

Eujeanie

But she said in her OP she'd be driving. I wonder if she still has cats and what will happen to them for a year?

CIT85

Asia would be great, Europe would be a real pain trying to find Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt in all the places where you want to go. Even some parts of the US and Canada just do not have major chain hotels.

PNWCatLady

Wow,


First, thank you so much for a warm welcome and all of your extremely helpful advice!

First off, the cats are going with me. I know that adds some challenges and lowers the number of hotels that I can stay in. But I think we will all be okay, knowing my cats. They are happy with me wherever that happens to be.

As for travelling in an RV, I have been exploring that avenue as well. When you add in the cost of RV depreciation, buying a new tow vehicle, nightly campground fees, diesel gas at 8pmg, additional insurance, the inevitable repairs, and what I could earn if the RV was money was invested instead of tied up in an RV, it's actually pretty much on par with staying with in Hotels. So really it comes down to do I want my own mobile space with a lot of maintenance or boring hotel rooms with no maintenance.

Since its been asked: for the sabbatical, I don't plan on working. I want to get out and explore some places I haven't been. I will be blogging along the way, and building my art portfolio. I have a lose itinerary in place, but I want to keep it flexible. I won't be planning and booking the full year in advance. I will be starting from Seattle and I want to hit Yellowstone, Maine, Salem Mass, Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach, DIsney World, Florida Keys, New Orleans, Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, and more. I plan to stay 2-4 Weeks at each location, but am flexible to staying longer if a place is super awesome. And yes, I have a place to go back home to as well.

I love the idea of getting hotel sponsorship for this, so I will check that out when it gets closer to being a reality. I'll also look for travel jobs. However, I'm not holding my breath on either of these things.

I did run the numbers for the Hiltons program using the Amex Aspire Card:
Sign Up Bonus = 150,000 Points
365 Nights at $150 = 1,095,000 Points
14x Multiplier from Card = 766,500
Milestone Bonuses = 70,000
Grand Total = 2,081,500 Points
Using the same 40,000 point per night for redemption and the Stay 4, Get 1 Free, plus the Bonus night from the card, thats 53 Nights

And I ran the same calculation with Hotels.com
Using the Chase Reserve Card = 50,000 Bonus Points
Using the 6x Miles on 365 Nights at $150 = 328,500 Points
Hotels.com = 36 Free Nights
Convert 333,500 Chase Points to $3335 Dollars (or $4168 through Chase Portal)
So 22 or 27 Nights
Grand total of 58 to 63 Nights
However, that doesn't get me any of the perks, upgrades or possibly included breakfasts.

Next, loads of people have suggested using multiple programs. If I were to do that, would it make more sense to do focused groups? For example, Months 1-3 only at Hiltons, Months 4-6 only at Marriotts, Months 7-9 at Hyatt, and the rest wherever. It gets me to the higher levels faster that way. However, I Know that not all chains will work wherever I am. Or do I just get some credit cards and stay where I want to stay when I want to stay there?

What are status challenges? I've been trying to find info, but my google skills are failing me on that one.

Thanks again, you all are awesome!

stvr

Discount Marriott GCs will be your friend.

Also, maybe start with a Platinum challenge.